Safety-match-box holder.



1N0. 781,354. PATENTED JAN. 31, 1905.

' E. A. PARKER.

SAFETY MATCH BOX HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED 0012.29.1904.

Patented January 31, 1905.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDMUND A. PARKER, or MERIDEN, coNNEoncUT.

SAFETY-MATCH-BOX HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 781,354, dated January 31, 1905 i i Application filed October 29,1904. Serial No. 230,490-

To; all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, EDMUND A. PARKER, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Meriden, county of New Haven, State of Connectiout, have invented a new and useful Safety- Match-Box Holder, of which the following is a specification.

My invention hasfor its object to provide a box and coverholder for safety-matches,

the operative portion of which shall be blanked j out and formed complete from-a single piece of sheet metal and without waste of metal,

thereby reducing the cost of construction to I the m nimum andenabhng manufacturers to produce an article for the purpose int-ended that may be sold for a few cents, may be attached by two screws in any place where it may be required, or may be sold permanently attached to a base.

It isv of course well understood that on acmous demand for a fixture of this character. adapted for general use in factories, dwellinghouses, hotels, and stores that may be sold in large quantities so cheaply as not to add appreciably-to the cost ofinstituting the use of safety-matches. I

With the above and other objects in view I have devised the simple and inexpensive safety-match-box holder of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, reference characters being used to indicate the several parts. a v

Figure 1 is an elevation of my novelsafetymatch-box holder as in use, a safety-match box and the cover therefor being indicated by dotted lines and the fixture shownas permanently attached to a base; Fig. 2, a view showing the base and holder in end elevation, a safety-match box and the cover therefor secured thereto as in use being shown in section;

and Fig. 3 is a perspective of my novel safetymatch-box holder detached.

The fixture is blanked out and formed complete from thin sheet metal and may be formed by means of a presswithout any hand-work whatever, the metal being fed thereto in strips and there being no waste. The fixture consists of a back, bottom, and front, denoted, respectively, by 10, 11, and 12, the back and front being bent at right angles to thebottom, the said back'lO being extended beyond the top of the front, and when in use as a holder the said extended portion will be between the match-box cover and the matchbox. The top of the front is offset inward, as at 13, and is engaged by the downwardlyturned ends 14 of arms 15, which are formed by splitting the sides of the back above the top of the front and bending said arms downward horizontally andcausing the ends 14 thereof to engage the offset, as clearly shown,.

place in use, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown the fixture. as permanently secured toa base 18, which is provided with a platform 19, upon which the lower end of the box-cover rests, andwith a screw 20, by which the base and the fixture may be attached in place. In Fig. 3 the fixture is simply shown as provided with two screw-holes 21 in the bottom, by which it may be attached to woodwork or to any suitable metal support.

The operation of the fixture will be readily understood from Fig. 2. The operator first removes the cover from a box of safetymatches and slides it down over the fixture, prongs 16 in the front engagingthe cover and looking it against removal without tearing or breaking the cover. The fixtures are of course made of standard sizes to correspond with the standard sizes of boxes of safety matches. The fixture is made of a height two-thirds, more or less, the length of the safety-matchbox covers that are to be held thereby, so that a third, more or less, of the cover will extend above the fixture when the cover is in place thereon. The arms 15 of the fixture serve as a rest for the safety-match box. Having placed the cover in position upon the fixture, the operator slides the box down within the cover, with the back portion between it and the cover, until thelower end of the box rests upon the arms, the lower third, more or less, of the box being inclosed in the cover and the upper two-thirds, more or less, of the box extending above the cover. As the box is pushed down to place within the cover prong 17 upon the back of the fixture will engage the bottom of the box and lock it securely against removal without tearing or breaking it. When the box and cover are in the position shown, matches (not shown) will be retained in place by the box, but may be readily removed therefrom and may be lighted by striking them against the specially-prepared friction-surfaces that are always provided on safety-match-box covers. From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a match-box holder which may be made from the thinnest of sheet metal, and that by means of the supporting-arms 15 15 of the back having a positive engagement with the front, and the extended portion of the back being between the match-box and its cover, the entire structure will be exceedingly well braced.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A holder for safety-match boxes and covers formed from a single piece of sheet metal and comprising a back, bottom and front and arms formed from the back and bent downward and provided with downturned portions adapted to engage the front whereby a rest for a safety-match box is provided.

2. Aholder for safety-match boxes and covers formed from a single piece of sheet metal and comprising a back, bottom and front and arms formed from the back and bent downward and provided with downturned portions adapted to engage the front whereby a rest for a safety-match box is provided, said back and front being provided with prongs which engage respectively a safety-match box and the cover whereby they are retained in place upon the holder.

3. A holder forsafety-match boxes and covers formed from a single piece of sheet metal and comprising a back, a bottom and an inwardly-offsetfront and arms formed from the back and provided with downwardly-turned ends which engage the offset, said arms forming a rest to support a safety-match box in use.

4. A holder for safety-match boxes and covers formed from a single piece of metal and comprising an extended back, a bottom and a front, arms formed from the back and bent downward to engage the front and provide a rest for a safety-match box, and a base to which the holder is attached and which provides a rest for a safety-match-box cover.

5. A holder for safety-match boxes and covers formed from a single piece of metal and comprising an extended back, a bottom and a front, arms formed from the extended back and bent downward to engage the front and provide a rest for a safety match box, and a base to which the holder is attached and which provides a rest for a safety-match-box cover, said extended back and front being provided with prongs which engage respectively a safety-match box and the cover, whereby they are retained in place.

In testimony whereof Iaifix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDMUND A. PARKER.

Witnesses:

CHAS. H. MILES, A. W. BULLOCK. 

